Our son has attended Ivy Garden since 6 months old. He has now graduated from two infant level classes and onto the toddler classroom! As first time parents, we were anxious about daycares and thoroughly researched all nearby options before landing here. We absolutely love this school/daycare! The teachers are so attentive, experienced, and kind. Our son loves each teacher he has had and enjoys going to school everyday. As parents, we trust they have his safety and development in mind. Since starting, he has been coming home with new sign language, words, and preacademic skills (e.g., shapes, letters) constantly. We especially love the academic and events programming. From weekly themes, science lessons, to holiday events (e.g. Valentine's Day dance, Easter egg hunt). I know the older kids go on field trips too. The school also offers organic meals that our picky eater actually enjoys! Personally, it was also very important for our biracial son to attend a school with diverse peers and teachers. He's class is made up of 80% mixed race classmates which is incredible! We couldn't have asked for a better daycare! read more

I can't say enough great things about Ivy Garden South Loop. I enrolled both my boys there starting at 2 months old. The care they received at every stage was phenomenal. The teachers were very warm. The curriculum is challenging and stimulating. The parent community is supportive. My kids really thrived at IG, and we will always be thankful for this opportunity. read more

Incredibly caring teachers and admins who helped my 2 boys thrive and prepared my oldest to successfully get into a selective enrollment elementary school (which I hope my youngest will follow on his brother's footsteps). High quality food to nurture the body along with the mind. They have been amazing for my family. read more

This is a wonderful school that truly builds a community for families. The teachers love the students and the academics are unmatched. They are exceptional at preparing kids for CPS selective enrollment schools. I've had one child graduate, and a second about to graduate, and a third child starting soon. Our family is one of hundreds that love this school community read more

My wife and I selected this daycare for our first child and we had an incredible experience here. Every single staff member was so kind and were incredibly nurturing and compassionate to our little one. This is absolutely the very best daycare in the area and although we were excited for the move that took us out of the vicinity, we departed Ivy Garden with heavy hearts. We received excellent updates on our son's meals, diaper changes, and health status throughout the day, the staff here always think of enriching outings and activities for the infants and children, and I took great comfort knowing that our son was receiving the absolutely best care here. read more

Not sure why it took me this long to write this review- it was long overdue. My daughter attended Ivy Garden from 4 months of age until she was 20 months old, and I could not recommend the daycare more highly! The only reason we left Ivy is because we moved out of state. As a first time mom, pediatric nurse practitioner, and former CPS preschool teacher, to say I was meticulous with our selection for daycare would be an understatement. To be honest, the brightly colored play spaces and large recruitment display on the wall initially made me believe the school would be nothing more than a babysitting service. But I was quickly proven wrong. The teachers at Ivy are exceptional. They are responsive, supportive, and most importantly they treat each child like family. That sounds kitschy- but it's absolutely true. The staff welcomed my daughter and celebrated each of her milestones like she was their own kid. And my daughter adored going to school each day- happily running into the arms of her teachers. The value of Ivy is unmatched- for the tuition you get meals, formula (or you can bring in your own pumped milk), excellent hours, and very few school closures. Plus if you are out for 5 days for vacation or illness, they will give you a prorated discount! They also love to celebrate holidays and use their safe parking lot or large indoor playroom space for staff-hosted parties. Walk by the space on Halloween, Christmas, or Easter and you'll see that they go all out for the kids- DJ, photo booths, arts and crafts, and tasty treats! The staff really leaves no stone unturned. They work collaboratively with one another, which enhances their communication skills with parents. They use the Brightwheel app to keep parents abreast of all activities and my husband and I looked forward to the countless video and photo updates we'd receive daily. We have also used many of the teachers for babysitters in a pinch. Last thing I'll mention that makes Ivy special is the community of parents. We have met some lifelong friends as parents of Ivy and enjoyed local happy hours or family gatherings outside of school hours. If you are deciding where to entrust the safety and wellbeing of your child, then look no further than the wonderful Ivy Garden! read more

We absolutely adore Ivy Garden!! Everyone is so warm, welcoming, and caring and we are so impressed by the progress our son is making on a daily basis. We enrolled our son in Ivy Garden at 3 months old and so far it has been one of the best decisions we've made since becoming parents. From the moment we walk through the front door until the moment we walk out, I feel like my child is being taken care of. I love that the administrative staff has taken the time to learn every child's name and greets them all when they walk through the front door. Our son loves his teachers and we love that they are so attentive and communicative. They take the time to listen when we have information or questions and they update his activity throughout the day via an app, which I LOVE, so we can see how much he is eating, sleeping, etc. They also snap a couple pictures or videos most days which is like getting a cute little present during my work day. :) The app is also great for announcements and messaging his teachers directly. At no point to I ever feel out of the loop which has been especially comforting as a new mom. Our son is absolutely thriving and much of that I attribute to his wonderful teachers at Ivy Garden. He has great sleep habits, is never shy or uncomfortable around new people, and is accomplishing new things every day. Thank you Ivy Garden and especially thank you to Miss Brenda and Miss Lee! We love you! read more

My daughter has been at Ivy Garden since she was 10 weeks old. The teachers are extremely patient and caring of the kids. My daughter is so excited to go to school as I can see a smile on her face every time I pick her up. As a parent, I am very happy to see my daughter having a good time at school. read more

My daughter has been at Ivy since she was 7 months old and just like all new moms I was apprehensive at first but boy did they deliver!!! We were more than happy while our daughter was there until she turned almost 2 years and then we moved to a new location. There is a sense of personal connection at Ivy and they make your child feel at home. Moreover the tremendous growth you see in your child is a proof of how much efforts they put in. May it be learning new things, building friendships, social and emotional growth. We absolutely miss Ivy and put our daughter back there in a heartbeat if we ever move back to south loop. The staff is incredible. Loved our experience there read more

Ivy Garden is frequently understaffed and the teachers and assistants for the one year old classroom are grossly under trained. In one day my daughter came home with a newly developed raw diaper rash. The teachers and assistants did not properly clean my daughter after making a morning bowel movement. Which meant she was sitting in her own waste for a full day. They showed me the video of the changes and three different people changed and checked her that day and none of them noticed the waste spread on her whole private area. I also came early one day for pick up and the two teachers had the toddlers standing along a baby gate watching tv. Days after starting at pickup one of the lead teachers did not know how to pronounce my daughters name. Meaning she had been caring for my daughter all day and did not know her name nor did she think to ask the administrator. I was told I should instead come up with a nickname for her because it would be easier for everyone to say. I chose Ivy Garden for their academics, diversity, and prestige. None of which they lived up to. The negligence, disregard, inexperience was unacceptable. read more

The purpose of the review is to warn the South Loop parents, it is my community, and hope the CEO of IVY Garden will read it. When you took a tour, they talk a lot about how their service is great and they will take care of our little ones the most. But based on our experience, the service is so far from the promises. We took off our son immediately, after waiting them to hear us for long time. Even we paid for whole June, he is not going be there even for day. Money cannot be compared with your child's wealth and health. We logged in 6 months ago, our 1.5-year-old son. My son did a great job in the first month only, because the teacher in his class was incredibly good and professional. If asked her to do something, she did right away. But the manager fired her in a month, and our nightmare began immediately. Literally, every day, when I picked son at 4.30pm, he was so hungry and thirsty, messy looking with a full dipper. Even then, my concern was only one "Please make sure he is fed." When I try to talk with teachers, they explained me that "he wasn't hungry at lunch time and was so tired by nap time, this is why he is not really eat," in respond, I just asked them to feed lunch after his nap. Even once, it has not been done. It was so stressful all the time to see my son cranky out of hunger. No one really tried to work with me or show their care, it is feel as if they are robots, especially when you try to talk with managers. (Management it is different story) Everything you can hear "Policy, Policy, Policy." Please be aware, outside playground for my son's age, is parking lot. Do not expect any flexibility with schedule they provide, if your child at 1.5 yo, and will not fit the regime, it is not their problem. They change teachers all the time, which is stressful for kids. Also, they keep moving kids from one room to another, literally for last few months they had changed room for our son, three times (not joke). I really care Who and How is taking care of my kids, and after my experience, I do NOT recommend this place for your child. There are other options even cheaper and more qualified. Me response to owner: I understand you are the owner and you have to safe your business even you have to call me a liar. But I who trusted you with my child, and went through all this horrible experience. Are you really thinking that I switched just because of misunderstanding of vacation days. You think I will put myself in such a terrible situation, like took days off from work while I am looking for another solution for my son. Really? Your stuff literally neglect my son, he loose weight,he was cranky, hungry and messy all the time. And now you called me liar? You are owner, and you are not had been noticed what is happened. I have never seen you or heard about you. You blindly belief that your stuff saying the true. Good management. You should be proud of yourself. I have all evidence any word I said, like weekly laters with the all names all your stuff, daily reports what he eats and his nup time. I can screen short it and post it for the public. Just ask me. 1. You fired Ms. Ariel, and she was 6m pregnant. She was so stress how she will be able to find next job. because she shared it with me with tears in her eyes. 2. Look up at your cameras and you will see what I had been discussed with you stuff about my concerns. 5. For past three month we had been in room 107, than 101, finally 102. Just at least read careful what is customer talking about, but consider you profession skills I am not surprised. 6. Yes, we are a nice people and we said Thank you and sorry if needed, but if it is prise for your, there are no comments after that. I just shared my honest experience with public and you do not have any rights to call me a lied without even talk with me. I know much better service in local facilities, and I would never recommend this is one. read more

My daughter started the school in February 2022. We have never experienced any issues. The stuff and all teachers are simply wonderful. They all have some hidden talents which is amazing to see during different events, they often organize for all kids and parents. My daughter is bilingual and super shy. I am extremely happy with the progress she has made throughout the time she attended this school. She loves all activities, including music classes, art classes, daily work sheets, book sharing etc. We wish she could stay there forever. read more

Ivy Garden did an excellent job working through all the unknowns throughout the pandemic. We sent 2 children through the program and are very pleased with the care they provide. read more

Have been attending Ivy Garden for over a year now. We originally chose the school because it was new, clean, and had huge indoor playground when weather was bad out. The facilities are still clean and well kept, classes are not crowded, the teachers are super friendly, and the students are well behaved. They have a good size parking lot which is nice for pick up and drop off and good hours for working parents. Ivy Garden also has good preschool program for 3+ kids with balance of fun and academics (letters, crafts, coloring, numbers, etc.). Highly recommend this school for your little ones. read more

My daughter attended Ivy Garden South Loop for 1 year and 9 months, starting in the 2 year old classroom and transitioned into the 3 year old classroom. I could not be happier with our very positive experience based on the high educational levels taught to the children, the commitment from teachers, and the feeling of community and over-achievement. Here are things that I liked the most at Ivy Garden South Loop: 1) Initiative for Potty Training As soon as she started in the 2 year classroom, the teachers took the initiative to potty train her, which was great because it caused us to potty train her sooner rather than later and created stability when we had travel plans later in the year. 2) Frequent Field Trips, Walks, and Events Despite being located on a very busy street, her classroom took frequent walks (weather permitting), either around the block, to nearby parks or playgrounds, always using a harness and even having another staffer use a Stop Sign while crossing the street. During non-ideal weather, they have an indoor playground. Sometimes, this location would have kids play in the parking lot with the gates closed or take them out to view the vegetable garden. She had a field trip or event once every quarter. This location really outdoes itself for events. It hosted a graduation ceremony for the 5 year olds (and even built a stage in the parking lot); the ceremony doubled as a recital for the younger classes, which included songs in English (with props), Spanish, Mandarin, and even a skit in Mandarin. It also hosted a Christmas event for the 2 and 3 year old classrooms for parents to see them sing songs and decorate gingerbread houses. Events are not always recurring year-on-year, so the variety is great. This past fall, they hosted a Halloween event in the indoor playground upstairs, but last fall, they took a field trip to a pumpkin patch. Other field trips have included seeing a play, attending the nature museum or Lincoln Park Zoo, or visiting a nearby fire station. You can really see the dedication that goes into the planning of these events and field trips. Not only have I enjoyed chaperoning her events, I also was able to sign up visiting grandparents to be chaperones. 3) Parent Involvement There is a Surprise Reader program in which parents (or even relatives) are encouraged to read to their child's classroom a book of their choosing. The parental/familial involvement was a special touch for my family because majority of our extended family members live out-of-state, so they enjoyed reading to her classroom during their visits to Chicago. 4) Language Program In this location, there are two tracks that you can choose for your child to learn, in 30-minute lessons a few times a week. The choices are Spanish or Mandarin. My daughter entered Ivy Garden South Loop understanding Spanish, so her favourite part during the transition to daycare was Spanish class. The weekly newsletters also featured updates on what the Spanish or Mandarin teachers were teaching so that these concepts, vocab, songs (even includes some examples that can be looked up on YouTube) can be reinforced at home. The newsletters were also a great example of consistency and transparency on what was being taught on a weekly basis. 5) App Updates This location used the Brightwheel app to update parents about foods eaten (and how much), photos, activities, potty training achievements, accidents, and general operational reminders (e.g. tuition is due, school is closed on a federal holiday, gate is not working so use the back door, fire drill today, etc.). It was extremely convenient to communicate with Ivy Garden, just by using the app and sending and receiving messages about absences, early pickup, or general questions. 6) Tuition Credit I called around other daycares and realised that this feature was limited. If a kid is absent for more than 5 consecutive business days, Ivy Garden South Loop gives a credit of 50% tuition for those absent days, as long as more than 2 weeks notice is given. They are very strict about needing more than 2 weeks notice. (I had to pull my daughter out so that we could attend an out-of-state funeral, which was within the 2 week period, and after several conversations, they said they could not issue a credit because they cannot bend this policy., which I understand, but still...) 7) Academic Over-achievement They teach above the academic levels expected. I didn't realise how on top of the academic achievement they are until I called other daycares when we moved neighbourhoods and found out my daughter at age 3 already knew things that other daycares didn't begin to teach until age 4. Her teachers were fantastic, patient, caring, and authentic. Had we not moved neighbourhoods, we would have happily continued sending her to Ivy until she entered Kindergarten. We enjoyed it very much and are grateful for such a strong start they gave her! read more

My son has been at Ivy Garden for nearly a year. We have been very pleased with Ivy Garden, and we will really miss them after we move! They are very caring and educational. Everyone knows his name, and he is always excited to come here. He has grown significantly - going from being a late talker to now nonstop chatting, knowing how to count to ten, and his alphabet. The other day, he had a fever and wasn't feeling well. Right when I walked into the room I could see a caretaker with him making sure he was sipping his water sippy to stay hydrated while he rested and still maintained an appropriate distance away from the other kids. It made me feel so much better knowing that even if I couldn't be there that exact second, someone was showering him with attention and love until I arrived. I don't have anything negative to say about Ivy Garden. They serve organic food my son loves, they do lots of crafts, and my son has always been properly supervised. Great balance/mix of play and learning. Hope our next daycare after we move meets this level. read more

My 2 year old son has been attending Ivy Garden for 3 years now and our kid loves going to Ivy Garden.

My son has been in this day care since he was 6 months old. Pros: When our son was in the infant classroom, he had a teacher that he adored. While our son likes all his teachers, Mrs. Moreno was his favorite. She gave him one-on-one attention and made a point to challenge/teach him new things and we saw the results everyday. Mrs. Moreno has since moved to the Lakeview location. After not seeing Mrs. Moreno for some time, our son still remembers her from his infant room - upon seeing her he ran up to her and gave her a huge bear hug. Cons: Our son moved to the toddler room early. When the new school year started a new batch of kids joined his room and within a week he was bitten twice - by the same child. The school agreed to separate our son from the child who kept biting him by moving him to another classroom. Yet, we noticed he was in the gym with the child who bit him. We requested they be separated and the school agreed to our face but ignored our request as we saw pictures of the two kids together in the newsletter and while picking up our son. I sent an email asking why they were not separated and repeated my request to separate the kids so that my son is not someone's chew toy. I sent the request in the morning...in the afternoon I received a call that our son was bitten in the morning for the 3rd time........ This was a 3rd bite by the same child and 7th 'accident' in 3 months. In summary, this school does not take precautions to protect children from harm despite promising parents that they will do so. Also, they claim to feed children organic food. While its true that the food they cater in is organic, the breakfast and afternoon meals that are not catered in and are NOT organic. If you look at the snacks in the room, they are not organic. Their 'organic' meals claim is an advertising ploy that falls short in reality. read more

My daughter has been enrolled at Ivy Garden since she was 13 months old and we're very pleased with the Center. She is now 20 months and she already knows her colors, ABCs, numbers, and shapes. We're very impressed with the staff - they are caring, kind, and very flexible. The facilities are great - the building is brand new, classrooms and bathrooms are very clean, and they have a large play area on the second floor. I highly recommend this center. read more

Our son has been enrolled in ivy garden for almost a year and we are truly thankful to the teachers, staff and director for their dedication and professionalism. My son was extremely anxious when he first started but it only took him around 3 weeks to adjust (vs his previous daycare 4 mos in and he was still crying) the teachers were very reassuring and made sure that he felt safe. Fast forward to a year and my son is thriving and has learned so much. He loves his teacher Ms Theresa and looks forward to going back whenever we're away on vacation. I would highly recommend this daycare! read more

We have been with the center 7 months (started in infants and will soon be in toddler) and are very happy with our choice. We originally chose Ivy Garden based on location and the look of the facility. We now love it for many other reasons. The teachers are great, the attention to our son's specific likes and personality traits shows through and administration is always willing to work with you. I was a bit apprehensive when swapping from our old care center but the smile on our son's face when he arrives and waves goodbye assures us we more than made the right choice for our family! read more

Our son has attended Ivy Garden since he was 6 months old, he is now nearly 1. We have been impressed with the teachers, administrators, and everyone we come in contact with everyday at Ivy Garden. We drop our son off smiling and pick him up smiling everyday. The teachers give so much individual attention to each of the kids and clearly care about each of them. They are the most flexible daycare in the area and from what I can tell stand above the rest in terms of the care that our son receives. read more

Against the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics, they use screens, including in the infant rooms. They conveniently do not tell the parents this on tours or before you pay $500 to enroll your child. They were only quick to respond when it came to money. Otherwise, we would have to follow up to get a response. Further, when we enrolled (several months before our actual start date), we told the front desk that we would need to enroll our child near the end of the month, instead of on the first of the month. They informed us this would not be a problem as rooms rarely, if ever, filled up. When we got close to a start date, the director told us that unless we enrolled our child on a certain date, there would be no space for her for several months, despite us having paid to hold our spot and being upfront with our start date. read more

This daycare has a lot a good reviews on Yelp so I sent my 1 year old daughter there in 2019. We were not very impressed by this daycare in the first few months as they always hire inexperienced assistants to take care kids in the early morning or late afternoon and their classrooms did not seems very clean. We also got very disappointed when my daughter was around 17 month as this daycare did not have enough teachers and assistants so one teacher needs to take more than 6-8 kids, which did not meet the required teacher and kids ratio, as well as prepare food. Therefore, kids get ignored all the time. Some kids even got bully by classmates when the teacher was busy with food preparation. Although the teacher In our kid's class asked the daycare to provide more help several times, they still do not provide enough help to the teacher. This situation last for about a week so we talked with the front desk about this issue. However, the front desk just told us they will get more teachers next week, which means the kids will keep on being ignored for a while. To make sure our kid is really been taken good care of and safe in this daycare my husband had to give them a serious warning that this issue has to be solved sooner. Eventually they send more teacher but we do not trust this daycare anymore, we transferred our daughter to another daycare. If you want send your kids to this daycare or any other daycares I would highly recommend you visited the daycare you like more frequently or send your kids to a daycare with live camera to make sure your kids are really been taken good care of and not been ignored as I did not notice ivy garden has so much issues until I started to picking up my kids at irregular hours. read more

We have sent our son to Ivy Garden since he was 18 months and is now 27 months. We have been very happy with the teachers, staff, and are very impressed with how much he has learned. He can count to 20, count to 10 in Spanish, and knows all his letters and numbers. Our son is a bad eater and the teachers take the time to send me before/after photos of lunch every day; our prior daycare would never have done this. It's a huge relief to see he's eaten a meal and I appreciate the extra effort. It's affordable and always clean. read more

Our 2.5 year old son has been enrolled at Ivy Garden for more than half a year now, and we are extremely happy with our experience. This is his second learning center, and I would say we are definitely happier here. Our son has been learning his numbers, reading, writing, colors, days of the week, arts and crafts, etc. very rapidly and comes home with a wide array of new songs and stories of adventures he had each day. He is speaking in nearly complete and surprisingly complex sentences nowadays, which I credit in part to the learning environment at the center. They are teaching him to be very polite, minding his pleases and thank yous. They have an amazing play area that is gigantic and fully stocked with new toys, as the branch itself is fairly new and therefore so are its facilities. The teachers are all very caring and happy, and treat the children well. He is getting along very well with all his little friends there, so they are doing a good job developing the kids' social skills as well. They have field trips, for example to the zoo; and during the summer they take walks outside. (It's safe, as they are all wearing those harness things and several teachers accompany them.) Their days are packed with enriching activities, but they also have time to just be kids and develop social skills while playing. From the parental perspective, the center is very flexible and a great value. The prices are very competitive with other, similarly educational institutions. You should ask them what their current prices are, as I think every learning center's prices go up from time to time so I don't want to mislead by posting what I'm paying right now here, but I can say that we're saving quite a bit compared to other learning centers in the area. And despite the lower costs, I believe the quality of care is at least as good as elsewhere. Add that they will discount tuition when we go on vacation, including the sizable chunk we took off in December to visit the grandparents, which I have never seen any other institution do before. They also have a dedicated parking lot, so no need to find street parking. As a cherry on top, there's a great pediatrician (Dr. Weissbluth) who is opening a branch next door any day now, so it would even be easy to get pediatrician appointments out of the way when necessary. They also have parent meetings to keep us updated on what is going on and hear our feedback. They were extremely responsive to our input and in many cases pledged on the spot to adapt their practices or policies to meet our requests. For example, we inquired about whether there were plans to lower their minimum enrollment age (currently 6 months) so that we didn't have to find a temporary place for our expected daughter, and they said they were going to talk to the inspector about it during their next inspection in a couple months, to drop the age to 6 weeks. We were extremely impressed with how responsive they were to our input. They recently told us they are working on contracting some instructors to bring in a weekly foreign language class and kids' yoga (which the parents can participate in too if they happen to be around!), which is just cool. read more